Boinbar Character Analysis in The Lieutenant

Boinbar is one of the Aboriginal men that Lieutenant Gardiner captures so the English can learn the Cadigal language. He's around 30 years old and seems just as interested in learning about his captors as his captors are in learning about him. He supposedly develops a taste for wine during his captivity, and even learns how to toast to the king of England.

Boinbar Quotes in The Lieutenant

The The Lieutenant quotes below are all either spoken by Boinbar or refer to Boinbar. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Language, Communication, and Friendship Theme Icon

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Grove edition of The Lieutenant published in 2008.

Rooke said nothing more. There was a question forming in the back of his mind, which he did not want to hear. It was: What would I have done in the same place?

Related Characters: , , , ,

Page Number and Citation: 113

Explanation and Analysis:

Boinbar Character Timeline in The Lieutenant

The timeline below shows where the character Boinbar appears in The Lieutenant. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Imperialism, Racism, and Morality Theme Icon

...and looks unspeakably angry that he's here. Gilbert is smiling and asks the younger man, Boinbar, what the native word is for "hand." As Rooke watches, he becomes jealous and thinks... (full context)

Individuality vs. Communality Theme Icon

Rooke meets Boinbar's eyes, and thinks of how strange it must seem for him to be wearing clothes.... (full context)

Rooke begins to formulate an excuse to visit Gilbert's house so that he might see Boinbar and Warungin again. Before he has a chance to go, Silk shows up at the... (full context)

Silk continues to talk about how Boinbar and Warungin adjusted to their captivity, and shares more words of the native language. He... (full context)

Rather than seek out Warungin or Boinbar, Rooke walks towards the settlement and hopes he runs into one of the natives. He... (full context)